The Eagle girls ended their season after a crushing loss to Dike-New Hartford in the quarterfinal. Head Coach Mike Herrington shared his overall reflection of the young Eagles season. This is what Herrington had to say:
“The Lady Eagles entered the 2021 season with many new faces on the roster and the lineup would be composed of a lot of players with minimal experience as the Eagles graduated 5 starting seniors from last year’s starting lineup. The sad part is saying goodbye to 5 Seniors but this provided a great opportunity for new players to take the court, improve over the season, and elevate their performances on the court. The Eagle’s schedule once again saw the Top of Iowa Conference at the top of its game with several ranked teams and recognized individual players. Traditionally strong programs including Forest City, Bishop Garrigan, West Hancock, and North Union were ranked in the top 15 of class 1A, 2A, and 3A. Those programs and West Fork from the East side of the conference played in regional semi-finals, regional finals or will represent the conference at this year’s state basketball tournament.
“The Lady Eagles earned the opportunity to host a first round 2A regional game this season. The Lady Eagles took advantage of the opportunity earning a victory over the Ogden Bulldogs in front of their home crowd. This was the first time the Lady Eagles secured a first-round regional victory since the program defeated Central Springs in last year’s first round victory! The win moved the team on to face top ranked Dike-New Hartford in Dike in a regional quarter final contest the same team the Eagles faced in last year’s 2nd round but this time it was against the defending class 2A state champions.
“The Eagles saw the 2022 season come to an end with a loss to Dike. The Eagles 2021-2022 roster was mainly Freshman and Sophomores with a few Juniors which is exciting as the entire roster returns for the 2022-2023 season. Primary focus for this season was the continued improvement and development of basic basketball fundamentals and knowledge. The entire roster saw positive direction in these areas, especially in team defense and ability to transition vs. full court pressure and half-court defensive sets. Key parts of the game were brought to the court on a nightly basis by the Top of Iowa Conference. The game of basketball generally is developed overnight rather by commitment, consistent routine and the continual work by participants in season and out of season. I saw participants in the Saturday and Sunday open gym formats which is a positive step forward to overall player development.
“We attended summer scrimmages with an area team and participated in a December 5 team scrimmage all of which gave participants increased court time. One’s ability to be a strong right/left-handed dribbler and consistent shooter result from consistent dribbling and consistent shooting drills outside of normal practice, in the off-season, and continually working to make basketball a consistent part of weekly activities. The “sum of the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts”is an important concept in teams. As we transition into next season the 35 second clock will be a key part of Iowa high school girls’ basketball games changing the half-court offensive set of high school basketball. The ability to continue breaking presses, ability to develop solid perimeter shooting, and half-court offense sets will only see an increased level of execution. The result, this provides every player with a new opportunity to develop ball handling skills, perimeter passing/shooting, and solid man-to-man defensive skills. The program is introducing a March and April off-season program emphasizing these areas as we transition into summer basketball.”
Herrington then explained the individual and team awards coming up, saying, “The coaches will select individual awards and the team awards will be voted on by individual team members again this season. The tentative date for the year end event is March 6th. The leading scorers by points for this season were Nadia Kaiser and Braxton Steil. Nadia Kaiser was selected Honorable Mention All-Conference by the Top of Iowa Conference coaches.”
